New research reveals why water type and site location drive impact
New findings from the University of Massachusetts Amherst are shaking up long-held assumptions about sustainability in lithium mining. The study, led by graduate researcher Daniel Corkran, suggests that water density and extraction location—not just how much water is used—are the real environmental differentiators.
Using a combination of long-term modeling and satellite validation, the team analyzed extraction methods across various geological and climate conditions in South America’s Lithium Triangle. The research compared both evaporative mining and direct lithium extraction (DLE) techniques and found that mining operations closer to freshwater sources significantly accelerate wetland degradation and shoreline retreat.
Meanwhile, tapping lithium-rich brine from deeper, central zones of salares—the high-altitude salt flats found in the "Lithium Triangle" of Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina—causes significantly less ecological disruption. These findings challenge current sustainability metrics and may push operators to rethink where and how they extract lithium to meet rising EV and battery demand.
The implications are clear: companies will need to shift their focus from simple water-use totals to more nuanced indicators like density and geographical position if they want to align with emerging environmental standards.
Water Density Emerges as a Key Sustainability Factor
One of the study’s more unexpected conclusions involves water density—a factor typically overlooked in mining sustainability assessments. While freshwater is less dense than brine, its extraction causes disproportionate environmental ripple effects. Just as ice takes up more volume than the same mass of liquid water, freshwater occupies more space than dense salt water in subsurface aquifers.
This physical property means that removing freshwater leads to greater drawdown effects, with consequences for wetland health and groundwater systems that extend beyond the immediate mining zone.
This becomes especially relevant for DLE technologies, which are often promoted as more sustainable than traditional evaporation ponds. In reality, DLE processes can consume up to twice as much freshwater—creating a hidden environmental cost not fully captured in current ESG reporting or investor disclosures.
As more companies adopt DLE methods, this density-related impact could become a deciding factor for regulatory bodies, investors, and supply chain partners evaluating the long-term viability of mining projects.
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